Michael O'Brien et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,702 dated Aug. 15, 1972 discloses a sampler for bulk loads of fruits or vegetables. The patented sampler is especially widely used in the sampling of mechanically harvested tomatoes ultimately destined for canneries. Mechanically harvested tomatoes ultimately destined for cannery processing are ordinarily first transported to a receiving station for inspection. In recent years tomato inspection has been carried out at such stations using a sampler for bulk loads of fruits or vegetables as disclosed in said patent.
In 1971, at the time of the patent filing, about 80% of the tomatoes were received in boxes approximately 2 feet deep. Thus, the height of the core referred to in the patent was about 2 feet and the core diameter was such that as the tomatoes were released from the sampling tube, the core filled the subjacent receptacle with 50 pounds of tomatoes, the quantity required by the inspectors.
Presently, however, substantially all mechanically harvested cannery tomatoes are transported from the field to the inspection station in large bins supported on flat bed trucks or they are carried in bulk trailers. In both cases, the load is about four feet, or even more, in height. It can therefore be seen that unless something were done to constrict the central opening in the separator disclosed in the patent only the bottom two feet of the core would pass through the opening, thereby filling the receptacle before the upper two feet of core even reached the opening.
The top two feet of core would thus spill over the outside of the conical separator, rejoin the main body of tomatoes and never be sampled.
Efforts have been made to rectify the situation. For example, conical separators have been made with openings of different sizes.
By using a separator with a relatively constricted throat when a deep load is to be sampled, say four feet, or so, the core diameter is narrowed sufficiently so that the entire core length will just fill the inspection receptacle, in the manner desired.
Where a shallow load, for example, two feet, is to be sampled, a separator with the customary fairly wide throat must be used.
For loads of intermediate depth, separators with various appropriately dimensioned openings are utilized.
Owing to the fact, however, that loads are inspected in the order in which the trucks reach the receiving station rather than in accordance with the load height carried, it is frequently necessary to keep changing separators to conform to the various load heights.
This requirement becomes onerous when dozens of changes from one size separator to another become necessary during the course of a shift.